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Ashley

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Before Your Next Tweet or Status Update...

Before you decide to send out your next tweet or status update on Facebook, I want you to ask yourself these three questions (at minimum):

If someone else wrote this, would I think they were being extremely negative or complaining over something silly?

Am I sending out a "blind attack" on someone?

Will posting this do me any good?

Listen, people upset me all the time.

Well, maybe not all the time- but I certainly get annoyed with snarky one liners and rude comments.

And I cry a lot.

But if I posted everything I told Justin after a long and hard day, then you guys would block me from your news feed for reasons beyond too many Bandit pictures and selfies.

And obviously I have bad days. Well, I should have "bad hours" - because I try not to let an ENTIRE day be ruined by one little (or medium-sized) comment or situation.

I want to pull my hair out when someone says or does something awful to me or someone I care about.

But I've got to be honest. I am so sick of logging onto my Facebook page and Twitter and see nothing but people complaining about life or feeling sorry for themselves!

It's getting out of hand.

Social media has changed our world. It's easy to hide behind a computer screen and post whatever is on your mind - hurtful or not.

Listen, I've made this mistake a few times.

And even today, I found myself wanting to send out a "blind attack" because of a snarky email reply I got to a simple email I sent asking for directions.

But instead, I let it go. And vented to a coworker for about 20 seconds. Then I was over it. And I forgot about it until just now.

So...

If you're truly that unhappy, then do something to change your situation or mindset.

If you're truly that upset, call someone to chat it out. Or better yet, schedule a lunch, dinner, or drinks to meet up in person!

If you're truly that depressed, schedule an appointment and talk to a shrink. There is no shame with getting help for your emotional troubles.

Basically. This:

Only I would say "Don't POST something permanently stupid just because you are temporarily upset."

I know that people always complain that the news is full of crime, violence, and horrible stories.

And while I think that's partially true, I also think people are blocking out the positivity that exist in the world today.

Some people are simply blinded by negativity and self-pity.

I was at the gym last night. I didn't have my headphones so I was stuck reading the captains on the news.

A story came on about a Boston marathon runner (Robert Wheeler) who helped save a man's life after the explosion.

Robert took the shirt off his back (literally) and wrapped it around his bloody leg. I was choking back tears as I was reading the captains as they talked about those moments.

Those seconds.

Those life changing seconds...

A picture of Robert lifting the older man into the air with his legs wrapped up in his shirt. He is next to other helpers - holding me - bonding with him - encouraging him to hold on.

Then the news flashed to another picture of Robert running the marathon- just moments before the bombs exploded. He had no clue how his life would forever change in a matter of minutes.

While they are 20 or so years apart, they are now great friends. They communicate daily. Robert just graduated college and he hopes to become a fire fighter.

He's already a hero.

He's already saved lives.

He is one example of a story, a normal person like you and I, who can take a dark situation and turn it into a positive one.

I could have watched the story and reflected on that bomber.

That monster.

The damage he did.

The lives he took.

And I could have stewed over how careless he was to perform such an act of terror.

I could got worked about all the negativity....but just like the feature story on the news, I focused on the positive.

I was inspired by his kind heart.

I was reminded that good people exist in a somewhat "bad world" ...

So the next time you get the urge to complain to your news feed about the person who cut you off on the way to work or the fight you're in with your significant other / friend - just wait a few seconds.

Talk it out.

THINK it out.

And try to remember there are larger, more important situations and people in the world that deserve your attention.

Disclaimer: This blog post was NOT written with any ONE person in mind. It was a general observation that you might make yourself if you browse your own news feed. So please don't assume anything I've written was about you...